Former Liverpool defender Dominic Matteo has opened up on his heart-wrenching ordeal with a brain tumour and admitted he's "lucky to be here".
The 46-year-old had surgery in November to remove the growth and has undergone six months of rehabilitation.
Last month, the ex-Reds and Leeds star revealed he has recovered from his brain tumour via an emotional social media post.
Since then, Matteo's wife lifted the lid on her husband's brain tumour surgery, comparing the process of saving him to a "scene from the Avengers".
And reflecting on his experience in the past six months, Matteo has outlined his gratitude to those around him including wife Jessica.
“Everything my wife has done for me, and family and friends, over the past few months – and everyone else – it has just been incredible,” he told LFCTV’s Legends in Lockdown show.
“Everyone really got behind me. At that period of my life I probably needed it more than I realised. When you get yourself into that position all you want to do is get out of it as quickly as possible, that’s the tough bit.
“At the moment things are going really well, we had a positive outcome, which is always the thing – as any person will tell you – you just want a little bit of some good news. Fortunately, we got a little bit of good news at the right time.
“It’s still sinking in, to be honest."
Matteo, who played for Liverpool between 1993 and 2000, was working for the club's television channel when he came off air suffering from a persistent headache.
The former Scotland international had seen an optician and a doctor but neither had been able to pinpoint what was causing his pain.
Matteo, who also played for Leeds United and Stoke City, went into hospital hoping that he would be diagnosed with a virus, only to be told he had a brain tumour.
His recovery is ongoing but Matteo is looking at the positives.
He added: “At the moment for me it’s still day to day, I still have to function with certain things. I still can’t read and write. You just have to realise about certain things.
“We’ve all lost people to certain things and there’s been a lot of bad news knocking about. Just to bring a little bit of happiness from my own point of view and for everyone else at that moment was nice.
“It has been such a tough time for everyone – and for me.
"We keep going and I’ve kept battling away right the way through it. I can’t thank my wife Jess enough for everything she has done for me through this period.
“It’s only at periods like that, that you realise who you need in life at times.
“I just see it as another experience. I’m lucky to be here, I’ve got to say that. I am lucky to be here. I’ve had brilliant staff and people around me.”
Matteo, who retired in 2007, played 155 times for the Reds between 1992 and 2000, having come through the Merseyside club's academy.
